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Sat, Feb 11 2012
Grey economy for more than 40% of tourism sector - industry
Photo: Stoyan Nenov
More than 40 per cent of business in the tourism sector is undeclared and unaccounted for, according to the president of the Bulgarian Chamber of Tourism, Tsvetan Tonchev.
In an interview with Focus news agency, Tonchev said that in 1990, the municipalities of Nessebur and Varna collected three million leva each in tax from tourism. The anomaly was that in 2008, the sum reported by both municipalities was exactly the same.
According to Tonchev, the Tourism Bill has to be re-examined and re-evaluated, and the long-term strategy for tourism development has to be re-assessed, if the sector's grey economy is to be successfully tackled and controlled.
Tonchev has said that the bill should be amended to emphasise quality of service and customer satisfaction. Higher tax will be paid by those establishments who are reported to have poor and inadequate service standards.
A spokesperson from the Bulgarian Chamber of Tourism said that last year's global economic downturn had triggered sharply reduced tourist numbers in the country. In particular, western visitors with lower spending power. The report says that poorer Germans and British tourists who usually frequent the Black Sea were largely absent. Moreover, western tourists had also taken less time off, affecting the domestic tourist industry.
"In the absence of German and British tourists, we have to concentrate on attracting visitors from other countries," Tonchev said.
According to him, "Spanish tourists should be a priority because they are cultured, civilised and generous". Meanwhile, the Bulgarian tourist sector should also concentrate on attracting more tourism from Russia, the report says.
The industry is not only reeling along the Black Sea coast, however. The number of tourists in Sofia declined drastically during the first half of 2009, compared to the corresponding period in 2008.
The first six months of 2009 saw a little more than 112 000 tourists in the capital, a substantial drop from the 293 000 for the same period last year. The municipality's report attributed the decline to the global economic downturn.
More than 170 establishments had been closed in the capital alone since the turn of 2009. Most were closed because of the harsh economic climate, but sustained surveillance conducted by agents from the Tourist Service had revealed that many places had employed young people who were "severely lacking in professional qualifications and capacity, so contributing to the poor and inadequate service within the aforementioned establishments".
In an interview with Focus news agency, Tonchev said that in 1990, the municipalities of Nessebur and Varna collected three million leva each in tax from tourism. The anomaly was that in 2008, the sum reported by both municipalities was exactly the same.
According to Tonchev, the Tourism Bill has to be re-examined and re-evaluated, and the long-term strategy for tourism development has to be re-assessed, if the sector's grey economy is to be successfully tackled and controlled.
Tonchev has said that the bill should be amended to emphasise quality of service and customer satisfaction. Higher tax will be paid by those establishments who are reported to have poor and inadequate service standards.
A spokesperson from the Bulgarian Chamber of Tourism said that last year's global economic downturn had triggered sharply reduced tourist numbers in the country. In particular, western visitors with lower spending power. The report says that poorer Germans and British tourists who usually frequent the Black Sea were largely absent. Moreover, western tourists had also taken less time off, affecting the domestic tourist industry.
"In the absence of German and British tourists, we have to concentrate on attracting visitors from other countries," Tonchev said.
According to him, "Spanish tourists should be a priority because they are cultured, civilised and generous". Meanwhile, the Bulgarian tourist sector should also concentrate on attracting more tourism from Russia, the report says.
The industry is not only reeling along the Black Sea coast, however. The number of tourists in Sofia declined drastically during the first half of 2009, compared to the corresponding period in 2008.
The first six months of 2009 saw a little more than 112 000 tourists in the capital, a substantial drop from the 293 000 for the same period last year. The municipality's report attributed the decline to the global economic downturn.
More than 170 establishments had been closed in the capital alone since the turn of 2009. Most were closed because of the harsh economic climate, but sustained surveillance conducted by agents from the Tourist Service had revealed that many places had employed young people who were "severely lacking in professional qualifications and capacity, so contributing to the poor and inadequate service within the aforementioned establishments".
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This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained не е по темата на статията
From being ripped of at Bourgas airport,taxi 30 euro to Bourgas young people giving me short in my change. been pestered by conmen to change money, inflated prices for tourist.does Bulgaria think we are fools.Will certainly tell my friends not to go to Sunny Beach.
Mary:
"Why do they no longer come?"
Because they are broke Mary. Tourism is down with the same or larger % all over EU - Spain is even worse affected.
Please, get informed about the larger picture, before you vent your natural prejudices.
For anyone arriving in Sofia, ONLY USE the "official" taxi company: OK Supertrans 973 2121. They have an office in Arrivals. Otherwise you will DEFINITELY be ripped off. I have had this bad experience once myself...
I would have thought that the Germans and British were the largest markets for tourism on the Black Sea - together with other
north western europeans such as the
Scandinavians and Dutch. Why do they no longer come? Poor service and a feeling of being ripped off
being good reasons. Taxi fares should be controlled. And planning should be planned so that there are no eyesores from unfinished buildings and investors do not feel
ripped off.
I think the Romanians and Russians could be encouraged to visit Bulgaria, because of [...]
Read the full comment the sun and longer season - but they will not want to be ripped off either. Most
who visit Bulgaria are not rich.
The Spanish may be courteous, but
why would they want to visit the Black Sea? They have warm sunshine and nice beaches, and history/culture of their own. They even have their own ski resorts, and Andorra close by - which although not as cheap as Bulgaria
are reasonably priced, offer better service, and at higher altitudes, more reliable skiing. And they can speak their own language.
Surely logic would dictate that it
is better to target countries who
don't have good weather. No wonder
the tourist industry is shrinking.
Apart from Wizzair flying from Luton there are no low cost flights to Bourgas, the average cost being £250-£300. When you can fly to Turkey and Greece for under £40 it is a no brainer. Also, violent muggings are rife in Sunny Beach this year and the police are charging victims to complete a report form and more if they want a copy for insurance! They are doing nothing to rid the streets of this vermin and bad news spreads quicker than good news when these people get back home. Will they go back again - no way! Neither will [...]
Read the full comment the people they tell.
Patrick, this is Bulgaria as Bulgarians apathetically say! And this is type of monkey business that Brussels is speaking about, it is simply called "organised crime".
first impressions are important. my dauhter on arriving at sofia airport was asked for 70 leva for a taxi to the coach station, in 2008 the same journey cost me 8 leva. will she have another visit??????????????????????????????
If I where you! Concerntrate on your northern neighboors Romania! As quality servicies in Romania are far more expensive and worse in Romania, you could gave clients from Bucharest coming to Bulgaria!
In Bulgaria I been told is the summer 1 to 1,5 month longer! Good luck!
It is not because of concerns that finnansiell Bulgaria sees fewer travelers from the Nordic countries and England. Sunny Beach has had an incredibly bad reputation, and the past travelers have chosen new countries to visit. Of course, the bad rycktet helped to bring new passengers chose to travel to Bulgaria. Unfortunately, as Bulgaria has no understanding of service and honesty. It is not easy to sell stale bread expensive, when a friendly neighbor sells fresh cheaply.